Entry #2
Lake Quannapowitt, Wakefield, MA
It is Thursday, June 29th, 2023, at 18:20 and the weather is cloudy and warm and 80 degrees F.
Description:
Today at the lake, there is not much of a breeze at all. Every so often a mild breeze will last a few seconds but it is a subtle, warm breeze. Since it is cloudy today, the sun is not out and therefore there are no areas around that are shaded nor are there any sunny areas. The water is quite calm today as well, there is still movement to it but no waves at all, even along the shoreline. There is a somewhat large flock of geese about 50 feet away from where I sit at a picnic table 15 feet from the water’s edge. Some of the geese in this flock are on the larger side, probably close to 3 feet tall, whereas some of the other geese, presumably younger birds, are much smaller, maybe half the size of the larger ones. The geese seem to be wandering around in their flock either eating some grass, other plants growing from the ground, or something else. Most of them have their heads in the ground looking for food while a few larger ones seem more keen on watching their surroundings. About 20 feet away from where the flock of geese stand, is a small rabbit, probably an Eastern Cottontail. This rabbit is probably somewhat young since it looks to be no larger than one of my hands in length. I chose to observe this rabbit for a bit, as I did not see any rabbits the first time I visited here last week. Initially, the rabbit emerged from a densely covered area consisting of small plants, ferns, and brush. The rabbit then wandered around in the open clearing for a while, frequently stopping and standing still for a few minutes at a time. It then suddenly catches sight of the geese and flees quickly back into the brush. After the geese move past the area where the rabbit fled, it reemerges and runs closer to the shore where it wanders in and out of shoreline plants. Eventually, something unknown to me seems to startle the rabbit which then sprints into the cover of some nearby plants and I don’t see it again.
One Unfamiliar Species Identified:
A species of tree that I was unfamiliar with and wanted to identify was that of the big tree right in the middle of the grassy area and off the shore. This tree provides lots of shade for the area, and is the biggest tree within the surrounding area; it also has a small bench beneath it, situated between the tree and the lake. After doing some research, I was able to identify this tree as most likely being a Pin Oak tree, also known as a Spanish Swamp Oak, or Spanish Oak (scientific name Quercus palustris). Other possible identifications are a Black Oak, or Scarlet Oak which both look similar. In order to identify it, I first knew it was some species of oak due to the type of leaves it had and because they are common to the area and looked like other species of oak I have seen. Then, I decided to focus in on the leaves because they looked distinctly different from other leaves I have seen before. I then looked up species of oak with 5 lobes and deep sinuses and few multiple species of oak with these types of leaves. After that, I compared and contrasted a the leaf of my tree in question and the examples of the different oak species and was able to identify the leaves and properties of a Pink Oak to be the most similar. An interesting fact about the Pin Oak is that it is often referred to as the Swamp Oak due to its tolerance for moist, wet conditions.
Sketches:
- Canadian Goose — I chose to draw a Canadian Goose because they are common to the area and there was a whole flock of them close to me the whole time I was visiting this site
- Eastern Cottontail — I chose to draw an Eastern Cottontail sitting in the grass because I was observing this rabbit for a while during my time at the site.
- Old Feather — I chose to draw an old feather (perhaps a goose feather) because I thought it would be challenging to sketch, which it was, and I had found it right by my feet.
- Clover Mite — I chose to draw a clover mite (those little tiny red bugs) because there were a bunch that kept crawling on my paper as I was sitting at the picnic table trying to sketch!
Conclusion:
Sketching these things for this week’s blog post was definitely interesting for me. I’m not very good at art, I really never have been, nor have I have ever really been interested in making art. However, after sketching for this week’s entry I will say that it is pretty cool to attempt to draw what you’re seeing with a sketch rather than trying to describe it with words. At the very least, sketching for this week’s entry has made me even more impressed by artwork as a whole, and people are able to do such insanely accurate drawings/depictions of the natural world. Next week, I would like to follow up on identifying other tree species in this area.